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Wednesday

Man, I love nights like this on the Lake Michigan shoreline. A few minutes earlier this dune grass all looked dull, boring, and ordinary. Then with God’s magic light, it all suddenly came to life.

My wife Betsy and my in-laws, Don and Shari Verduin, sang in the Good Friday community service today. This year the community service was held at Cornerstone Baptist Church. When I found this beautiful cross on the wall I thought it would make a fitting photo for Good Friday. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 800, 18-50 mm lens at 34 mm

Sweet cherry blossoms form a perfect circle that makes them look picture perfect to me. The fruit farmer is not as happy about this picture as I am. It is March and the sweet cherries south of Ludington are blossoming three weeks ahead of schedule, putting them at great risk of frost damage. F9 at 1/200, ISO 400, 105mm lens at 105mm

Finally, a little rain to go with all that sunshine and warmth that has been good for the soul and for growing. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

I have never seen so many Canada geese goslings in one parade as this morning in the Tobico Marsh State Game Area at Kawkawlin, Michigan, between Bay City and Pinconning. Their two parents, or adopted parents, guide them through the waters of the big marsh near the Lake Huron shoreline. The geese are among dozens of game birds and songbirds seeming to pop up everywhere during my hike through the marshland set aside for them. D800, F5.6 at 1/800, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

Spring has come early this year and caused an early-blooming Eastern Redbud ornamental tree to bloom in March. The early arrival brightens my day as I head home on Iris Road south of Ludington. F6.3 at 1/320, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Tonight we had an Easter dinner at my dad and stepmom Debbie's house. Ethan was excited that he got to sit at the big boy table for dinner with some of his "friends." Right after I took this photo, Ethan flipped the table over, fell out of his chair and crawled off to his next adventure. F2.8 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Waves generated by a fresh spring breeze rush ashore along the Lake Michigan shoreline north of the Ludington city beach. The seasonal cottagers at Epworth Heights have not yet arrived and are missing a spectacular day on the waterfront. F8 at 1/800, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 100mm

Brad and I say, "Clouds are your friends." After waiting two hours on Easter at the base of the Father Marquette monument in Buttersville, a bright spot in the fast-moving clouds lines up perfectly with the cross to bring together the symbolic Easter picture I had envisioned when I first saw dramatic cloud formations heading across Lake Michigan. F4.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

Rays of light break through bands of altocumulus clouds. Brad and I teach our photography workshop students: "Clouds are your friends." I am thinking of these clouds as best friends as I stand on the Ludington beach on a late March evening. F7.1 at 1/640, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

The jetties at Ludington State Park are always fun to photograph, especially when the waters of Lake Michigan are rough. Today the sun broke through the clouds for a few fleeting minutes and I had just enough time to get into position to make this photograph. F9.0 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

This view of Tawas Bay, Tawas Point, and Lake Huron greets me after climbing 70 feet up the circular stairway leading to the lantern room of Tawas Point Lighthouse. The fourth-order Fresnel lens continues to shine brightly at night, warning ships of the danger posed by Tawas Point.

Wearing a backpack full of camera equipment, my son Brad reminds me of a Storm Trooper from a Star Wars movie as he photographs a storm front approaching the Ludington shoreline. F8 at 1/400, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones I did not plan to take. After making some images along with my West Shore Community College students of Roger and Marcia Hansen's beautifully restored barn at Cherry Hill Farm, several of us are drawn to an open-sided pole barn where hay is stored. I like how the bales look like Nabisco Shredded Wheat. F5.0 at 1/40, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 17 mm

Bands of altocumulus clouds remind me of a giant striped beach umbrella as they form a canopy over the Ludington beach on a spring evening. F5.6 at 1/640, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Swans at Epworth

I always know spring is near when I see these little blue flowers bloom every year in Nick and Kate Krieger’s yard. I photographed them in 2010 for our 365 Project and was honored to be able to photograph them again for the 366 Project ten years later.

When I was growing up, my mom's mother, Linda Scott, had a home on Thunder Lake in eastern Mason County. There was a bog across the road from her house that my brother and I called "Sponge Lake." Tonight while driving to Blue Lake to visit Betsy's uncle, Dave Verduin, I found some cattails in bloom with Sponge Lake in the background. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Ludington is famous for its sunsets, having been rated by numerous magazines and newspapers as one of the best places in Michigan and the Midwest to view a sunset. Sunsets like this one from Crosswinds at the Ludington harbor entrance are all the ammunition this lifelong Ludington resident needs to support the argument that my hometown is a most magical place to watch the sun appear to sink out of sight into Lake Michigan.